Starting Lineups, May 4: Paul out for Clippers, Shumpert and Miller in for Cavs
The Cleveland Cavaliers are shorthanded, but LeBron James says they're not vulnerable.
Whether that is true or not will come into focus beginning Monday night in Cleveland. The Cavs went 3-1 against Chicago in the regular season, their only loss coming in a lethargic, pre-All-Star break game in February.
While the loss of Kevin Love and J.R. Smith (the former for the balance of the playoffs, the latter for the next two games) hurts the Cavs, it's worth noting James has never lost to the Bulls in the playoffs. In 15 postseason games against Chicago, he's averaged 27.1 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Meanwhile in Houston, all eyes are on Chris Paul's hamstring and whether he will be able to play in Game 1 against the Rockets.
Of the storylines in this series, one interesting item could be "hack-a-center." DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard are 38.4 and 46.3 percent free throw shooters, respectively. The teams split their regular season series 2-2.
Here are the projected starting lineups.
Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET
| Position | Bulls | Cavaliers |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Derrick Rose | Kyrie Irving |
| SG | Jimmy Butler | Iman Shumpert |
| SF | Mike Dunleavy | Mike Miller |
| PF | Pau Gasol | LeBron James |
| C | Joakim Noah | Timofey Mozgov |
Cavaliers SG J.R. Smith (suspension) will not play
Cavaliers PF Tristan Thompson expected to start in place of Kevin Love (shoulder)
Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets, 9:30 p.m. ET
| Position | Clippers | Rockets |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Austin Rivers | Jason Terry |
| SG | J.J. Redick | James Harden |
| SF | Matt Barnes | Trevor Ariza |
| PF | Blake Griffin | Terrence Jones |
| C | DeAndre Jordan | Dwight Howard |
Clippers PG Chris Paul (hamstring) will not play